


Festivals

by Bluewolf458



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-19
Updated: 2012-01-19
Packaged: 2017-10-29 19:29:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/323314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluewolf458/pseuds/Bluewolf458
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blair is correcting essays... again</p>
            </blockquote>





	Festivals

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Sentinel Thursday prompt 'solstice'

Festivals

by Bluewolf

Blair muttered to himself from time to time as he read through the various blue books he had brought home to grade over the weekend - one last task to complete before Rainier's winter break.

Jim was used to Blair's subvocal mutters of approval or annoyance as he worked - but his attention was drawn on this occasion by a particularly loud, totally audible to anyone, exclamation of "God! Where did you get this from?"

"Chief?"

Blair glanced over at his friend. "Sometimes I despair. Okay, this student hasn't been particularly conscientious about attending lectures, but really... "

"So what's he written that has you so riled?"

Blair sighed. "The theme of the essay was winter festivals, but the students were free to interpret that whatever way they liked, and some have been pretty good - they took material, not just from my lecture on the subject two or three weeks ago, but from things they had researched for themselves. But this one... He totally ignored the prehistoric significance of things like the light of the rising sun at the winter solstice shining down the passageway into a Neolithic tomb and the various celebrations in the days following the solstice to welcome longer days and - well, express gratitude to the sun for returning instead of moving further and further away until the world was left in darkness. He concentrated on Christmas - which in itself would have been all right if he'd even mentioned the historical significance - but he's written about it as 'a festival created by, and maintained by, Business for the benefit of shopkeepers'. He's lumping it in with things like music festivals, which are relatively modern, and he seems to be quite sincere in believing that Christmas dates back no more than perhaps a hundred and fifty years."

"To Victorian times?"

"I suppose a lot of Christmas cards have given that impression - horse-drawn carriages being driven through snow-covered streets. But really... "

"So give him an F and then give yourself a break. Put the books down for half an hour, I'll make coffee for us, and then we can discuss just what we're going to do for a solstice celebration this year."

 


End file.
